Neal
Born and raised in Texas. In three words, Neal is confident, passionate, and kind. He has a wide range of interests: cars, movies, cooking, sports, games, and the outdoors. One of Neal’s greatest gifts is his ability to turn a stranger into a friend.
Mary
Born and raised in southern California. In three words, Mary is creative, driven, and introspective. She has always loved art, the beach, and music. One of Mary’s greatest gifts is her ability to make others feel special.
How we met
Mary began working as a tour guide at Innerspace Cavern during her senior year at Southwestern University. That spring, Neal moved back home for the semester while transferring from SUNY Maritime to Texas A&M - Galveston. He picked up a job as a tour guide at Innerspace in the meantime. They built a friendship and spent lots of time eating pizza and drinking beer at 600 Degrees pizzeria before they began officially dating in June 2018.
The proposal
In June 2024, the couple went to visit Mary's hometown together for the first time. One evening, they decided to take a walk on the beach prior to a dinner reservation at the Beachcomber Cafe. Neal pretended to take pictures of Mary while covertly checking the location of the photographer. When they finally reached a perfect spot, Neal got down on one knee. Nobody really remembers what was said, just that a few tears were shed. They were so excited, they could hardly eat their dinner!
